Talon Durla

Talon Durla is a Human male who served in the navies of the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire. He was a veteran of the Clone Wars. He was also a Dark Side Adept and held the exalted status of Emperor's Eyes.

Born on Coruscant in 49 BBY, he is considered to have been the prime architect of the vast expansion and modernization of the Imperial Navy, and it's rise to become the largest and most powerful navy in galactic history. He was the first officer to be promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral, and held the post of Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy from 19 BBY to 4 ABY. He would also be the only officer of this rank to survive the downfall in 4 ABY of the Empire itself, as the other eleven would all be dead within the year following the Battle of Endor.

Since his youth, Durla had secretly been a Dark Side Adept, whose family's vast wealth enabled him to indulge his studies of the Force on his own terms. As a child, his family had refused to permit the Jedi to take him for training, due to their mistrust of the order. Despite this, his considerable Force sensitivity gifted him a formidable grasp of the dark side outside of Sith tradition. He never spoke of his skill to anyone, but his own considerable talent at hiding his affinity for the Force from others is part of what drew the interest of Darth Sidious.

Serving as a young but prominent captain in the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars, Durla drew the attention of then-Supreme Chancellor Palpatine after his handling of a tense situation involving a team of Jedi Padawans who were investigating a theft of Jedi artifacts. He had two Force-sensitive Twi'leks swept away by Republic security before the Jedi could question them, and was later promoted to rear admiral and assigned by the Chancellor to accompany the Padawans as they took their investigation to the Outer Rim world of Auberjonsis. There, the Padawans encountered Separatist leader General Grievous, and engaged Separatist battle droids. A battle squadron summoned by Durla arrived in time to turn the battle, and the group eventually returned to Coruscant.

On the capital, Durla was summoned before the Jedi Council to explain the events on Auberjonsis, where he obfuscated details in his answers to questions put before him by Mace Windu and Plo Koon. He was dismissed by the masters, who later admitted to the Padawans they wanted to more deeply investigate the young admiral, but similarly admitted they couldn't, as his closeness to Republic leadership meant to dig into his background would possibly provoke the Chancellor. The Padawans commented to the masters on their having noticed the apparent familiarity that Durla shared with Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.

While the Padawans were sent off to investigate another lead in their pursuit of the artifacts thief in the Palarma system, Durla was called into private conference with Palpatine, who had come to increasingly trust in his judgment and loyalty

After the declaration of Empire was made, Durla was made a fleet admiral and placed in charge of the admiralty, where he transmitted the following message to every vessel in the Republic Navy -

"This is Admiral Talon Durla, speaking from Coruscant with a Priority One communication to all Republican naval units. Due to an attempted Jedi revolt against the Senate and Supreme Chancellor, emergency contingencies designed to contain and neutralize this threat have been activated.  As a result, the capital is currently under lockdown and will remain so until further notice.  All units will remain at their current, assigned stations until further notice or unless otherwise instructed.  Any emergency situation requiring the immediate attention of command is to be sent via secure priority channels.  Further information will be forthcoming.  End communication."

Durla died in 50 ABY, aged 100 years, at his secluded fortress on the Wild Space world of Pion.